Prof. Dr. Suganuma Akimasa, Kyūshū Sangyō Daigaku, Fukuoka (April 2026 – March 2027)
Kamioka Mana, M.A., Keiō University, Tōkyō (Summer term 2022)
Prof. Dr. Kido Ei’ichi, Ōsaka University, Ōsaka (March 2019 – March 2020)
Prof. em. Tagai Tokuhei, Tōkyō University, Tōkyō (October 2013 – December 2013)
Itō Kaori, M.A., Kyūshū University, Fukuoka (October 2012 – March 2014)
Prof. Dr. Yamaguchi Teruomi, Kyūshū University, Fukuoka (August 2012 – January 2013)
Terazawa Yū, M.A., Kyōto University, Kyōto (September 2011 – March 2012)
Dr. Nara Katsuji, Kyōto University, Kyōto (September 2011 – March 2012)
Akashi Tomonori, M.A., Kyūshū University, Fukuoka (November 2011 – September 2012)
Interview with Prof. Suganuma Akimasa (June 9, 2026)
Prof. Suganuma is a historical sociologist from the Kyūshū Sangyō University. He is staying at Ruhr University as a visiting researcher from April 2026 until March 2027.
Interview: Leon Moritz, Student assistant
Dear Prof. Suganuma, thank you for taking the time to conduct this interview. Is this your first time here in Bochum, or have you visited Germany or Bochum before?
This is my first time in Bochum, but I have been to Germany a total of three times. The first time was three or four years ago when I presented my research in Berlin. The second time was around three years ago. I went to Belgium to join an international conference and returned to Japan via Frankfurt Airport afterwards. At that time, I stayed maybe five days in Frankfurt. But I have never been to Bochum before.
In that case, this is your first long-term stay in Germany. Could you explain your research interests next?
I am a historical sociologist specializing in tourism, media, cultural heritage, and nationalism in modern Japan. My research examines how cultural heritage becomes widely shared at the national level and how ordinary people come to regard it as national. In particular, I have studied the history of school trips and cultural heritage appreciation in Kyōto and Nara. There are many old temples and shrines there, which Japanese people regard as traditional and ancient. They are thus national symbols of Japan. But the English historian Eric Hobsbawm has said that many traditions associated with nation-states were created or reconstructed in the modern era. For example, states began only in the modern era to propagate things as traditional. My research focuses on the processes and mechanisms through which people come to regard something as tradition.
Would you say that your research is interdisciplinary work?
Yes. My research combines sociology, history, tourism studies, educational history, and heritage studies. I use historical methods to answer sociological questions about culture and society and would thus say that my research is indeed interdisciplinary work.
Have you already published any articles or books that are relevant to your current research?
Two months ago, I published a book on the historical sociology of cultural heritage appreciation in Japan. It examines how cultural practices and heritage sites associated with Kyōto and Nara came to be regarded as part of Japan’s national tradition by ordinary people between the Meiji era and the period of rapid economic growth after the Second World War in Japan. The book has been positively received in Japan and was recently reviewed by a famous historian in one of Japan’s major national newspapers, The Asahi Shimbun.
Has this always been your research topic, or have you worked on something different before?
I have been working on this topic since my student years. Of course, I have also researched other historical areas and published several articles on cultural heritage, tourism, and school trips in modern Japan. For example, my previous research focused on the historical development of cultural heritage tourism in Japan. I examined how schools, tourism organizations, government policies, and the media contributed to making cultural heritage a widely shared part of Japanese national culture.
And what are you currently researching during your research stay in Bochum?
During my stay at Ruhr University, I am conducting a comparative historical sociology of cultural heritage in Japan and Germany. I am interested in how cultural heritage becomes shared at the national level and continues to be reproduced over time. There are a lot of industrial heritage sites in Bochum, which I want to study for this because while I know the Japanese case well, I want to further explore the German case.
So, you want to compare Germany’s and Japan’s industrial heritage?
Yes, I wrote in my book that Hobsbawm’s theory alone cannot fully explain the Japanese case and instead offered a new theory in it, which I am going to present in English.
Are there any connections between Germany and Japan in your research that you have discovered so far?
Yes. Both countries have developed systems for preserving and promoting cultural heritage. Both countries have also used cultural heritage for tourism. By comparing Japan and Germany, I hope to better understand how heritage becomes meaningful to wider society.
What kind of sources are you working with to achieve this? Are there any sources you can only access here?
I mainly use historical documents, government records, newspapers, tourism materials, and educational sources. During my stay in Germany, I am also examining German scholarship and archival materials related to cultural heritage and historical memory. Although I have just started learning German, we are luckily able to use translation technology to make this easier.
How do you finance your research stay?
This is an important question for researchers. My research stay is funded by my home university, the Kyūshū Sangyō University, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This sort of funding is called Kakenhi (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research).
Have you already heard about the Ruhr University or the Faculty of East Asian Studies before coming here?
I had known about Ruhr University and the Faculty of East Asian Studies before coming to Germany through one of my colleagues, Professor Shimizu Yuichiro. He is a political scientist and had previously spent time here. I had previously considered Berlin to be best suited for my research stay, since I have already been to Berlin three or four years ago. But when talking about which university would be best for me, Professor Shimizu said that Ruhr University has a large collection of works on Japanese and Asian history, and that Bochum seemed like an excellent place for a long-term research stay.
Therefore, Professor Shimizu influenced your decision to carry out your research in Germany and at Ruhr University?
Yes, but I also wanted to find a good balance between research and family life during my stay abroad. I considered several countries, but Germany seemed to offer both a safe living environment and strong academic opportunities. Another important reason was Professor Katja Schmidtpott, whose research on Japanese history I have long respected. Ruhr University was therefore a good place for my project.
What do you think of the Ruhr University, the Faculty of East Asian Studies and the Department of Japanese history?
I have been impressed by the international research environment. Researchers from many countries work together here. I have also received very kind support from colleagues in the Faculty of East Asian Studies, which is great for me as a visiting researcher.
Dear Prof. Suganuma, thank you again for taking the time to conduct this interview.
Book information: https://www.shin-yo-sha.co.jp/book/b674807.html (jap.)
Book review: https://book.asahi.com/article/16540229 (jap.)
You can find an interview with Kamioka Mana that appeared in the RUB News here (ger.).
Interview with Prof. Kido Ei’ichi, DAAD-Visiting Lecturer 2019/20 (English translation)
Interview: Marc Paschke, AREA-Doctoral student
Dear Mr. Kido, thank you very much for taking the time to do this short interview. Perhaps you could introduce yourself in a few sentences?
My name is Kido Ei’ichi, my first name is inspired by the first satellite that was launched into space before I was born. I grew up in Tōkyō, live in Kyōto and work at Ōsaka University as an Associate Professor at the School of International Public Policy (Kokusai Kyokyō Seisaku Kenkyūka).
Where did you study? What did you study?
When I was young, I read a letter to the editor in a magazine or newspaper that compared the political situation in Tōkyō - at that time, there was a conflict between Social Democrats and Communists - with the Weimar period in Germany. I decided to learn German and study the history of the country. However, it was only after a three-month stay in the former East Germany in 1979 that I transferred to Hitotsubashi University and began studying more seriously. From 1985 to 1986, I also studied at Karl Marx University in Leipzig, and I have been at Ōsaka University since 1990.
What are your research interests? You are also giving a lecture at our lunch forum in June.
As a political scientist, I am particularly interested in the study of militarism, or the state’s attitude towards enforcing its interests through violence. Funny enough, when I write or give a presentation in German, the topic is Japan, and in Japanese, I deal with the German state - exactly the opposite. Politikwissenschaftler interessiere ich mich insbesondere für die Militarismusforschung bzw. die Haltung des Staates, seine Interessen mit Gewalt durchzusetzen. Lustigerweise, wenn ich auf Deutsch schreibe oder eine Präsentation halte, ist das Thema Japan, und auf Japanisch beschäftige ich mich mit dem deutschen Staat, also genau umgekehrt. Sie sind jetzt über den DAAD als Gastdozent hier.
You are now here as a visiting lecturer through the DAAD. How long will you stay, and is this your first time in Bochum?
That’s correct. I am here in Bochum for one year as a lecturer, but I would actually love to stay longer. It is the first time I have been in Bochum or West Germany for an extended period. Before this, I have been to Germany, especially East Germany, certainly more than 40 times, but usually only for short stays and lectures.
That’s why you speak perfect German. Do you like it at the University of Bochum?
Yes, I must say that I really like it in Bochum, but I can’t decide where I like it the best. Nevertheless, I would be happy to stay longer.
What courses are you offering this semester?
In total, there are three courses: On Tuesday, a seminar on the history and historical revisionism in Japan, on Wednesday, a text reading course where we are currently reading about the Japanese constitution and the much-discussed Article 9, and finally on Friday, a lecture on current topics in Japanese studies.
A very warm thank you for your time, Mr. Kido. We wish you continued enjoyment here in Bochum and look forward to two educational semesters with you! Or perhaps even more?
Interview Mr. Tagai (November 29, 2017; English translation)
Tokuhei Tagai is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tōkyō and a special research member at the university’s museum; his field of research is mineralogy. This fall, Professor Tagai is visiting Ruhr University Bochum for a month to once again work with sources from the Siebold Archive. In this interview, he talks about his stay, his scientific interest in the collection and its relevance for research.
Mr. Tagai, this is not your first time in Bochum. How many times have you visited?
This year is my 6th time in Bochum. On my first visit, I was only here for two days to view the collection; when it became clear how important the sources are, I came to Germany for longer stays, sometimes lasting up to a month.
What have you used the Siebold collection for so far?
The aim of my work with the collection is to complete and publish a work that Siebold had planned at the time, but which was never published: the Mineralogia Japonica.
In a letter to Dr. Temminck, then director of the Museum of Natural History in Leiden, Siebold wrote that he wanted to publish a three-part work on the occasion of his stay in Japan. Based on Carl von Linné’s Systema Naturae (1735), in which he divided nature into the categories of minerals, plants and animals, Siebold planned a publication on the mineralogy, botany and zoology of Japan. The latter two were published under the titles Flora Japonica (1835) and Fauna Japonica (1833), but he was unable to complete the planned Mineralogia Japonica.
With the help of the Siebold Archive, this project can be realized retrospectively; the collection contains, among other things, a manuscript of the Mineralogia, so that the trilogy can be completed.
Which source are you working with this time?
During my current stay, I am working on a manuscript by Heinrich Bürger, who became Siebold’s assistant in Japan in 1825 and later his successor. I was also able to see a corresponding table of contents and corrections written by Siebold himself. Incidentally, Bürger also wrote the aforementioned manuscript of Mineralogia, which he produced on Siebold’s behalf.
How do you finance your research stays in Germany? What funding did you receive?
In this context, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s funding should be mentioned in particular, which covers the costs on site. My research project was also funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture and the Toshiba International Foundation.
Have you already published the results of your research?
Yes, I have already been able to publish some of my results, for example in Siebold’s “De Mineralogica Japonica”, a volume published by Harrassowitz in the Acta Sieboldiana series in 2016. However, a part on physics is still pending. I also find Siebold’s determination of the height of Mount Fuji very interesting - I would like to write something about that.
How did you first hear about the Siebold collection in Bochum?
I met Professor Regine Mathias at the International Siebold Conference in 2011 and she told me about the archive at Ruhr University Bochum. At that time, I had already worked with the Siebold mineral collection in Leiden and created a database for it. However, this material was not sufficient to write the Mineralogia Japonica, as there is virtually no written documentation on the specimens.
What do you think are the special features of the Siebold material in Bochum?
Above all, its uniqueness! These sources do not exist anywhere else in the world. In addition, Siebold is very well known in Japan and there is great public interest in his person. In my opinion, this makes the collection particularly relevant.
Which sources in the collection do you find particularly interesting?
For me, Heinrich Bürger’s descriptions are very interesting, but also sources that indicate the relationship between Bürger and Siebold. For example, Siebold made his own handwritten additions when looking through his assistant’s writings.
Apart from the Siebold collection, what do you think of the Ruhr University Bochum?
Overall, I like the campus because it is so new. In addition, the Ruhr University staff seem organized and very reliable to me, so it is a good place to work. Maybe this will not be my last visit.
Dear Mr. Tagai, thank you very much for taking the time for this interview. I hope we can welcome you back to Bochum soon!
For more information about the Siebold Archive (including a Japanese translation of the interview), please visit the collections section.
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Last update: Jun 23, 2026
